The first person I trusted
by GarnetGuardian
Summary: When Ryou and Keiichiro's new invention shows a suspected target of the aliens, Zakuro reacts strangely. Can the other mews get to the bottom of the situation before its too late? Rated T for safety. First fic. Please read and review
1. New Invention

**Authors Note: Hello everybody. This is my first fanfic. I am writing on Tokyo Mew Mew as a request for a friend :) (Hope you like it). **

**Summary: When Ryou and Keiichiro's new invention shows a suspected target of the aliens, Zakuro reacts strangely. Can the other mews get to the bottom of the situation before its too late?**

***inner thoughts* I'm forgetting something...um...oh yeah, the disclaimer**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do however own the OC characters in this story**

Just as she did every morning, Zakuro walked down the little path and pushed open the decorated pink door of Cafe Mew Mew. As soon as she entered the room her eyes searched the room for the other mews. Lettuce was cleaning tables, Pudding was juggling with the vases as she put them on the tables and Mint was drinking tea. Nothing unusual there. She then searched for the final mew, their leader, who wasn't there at all. Nothing unusual there either, she thought to herself, Ichigo is always late for work.

Just as that thought had left her head, the pink haired girl burst through the cafe doors. Her grey and black school uniform was untidy and she looked like she had been running. At the sound of the doors opening, Mint looked up from her tea. "Why, look who is late, again" she commented. Pudding ran right up to her friend and exclaimed "You were with Aoyama-oniichan again weren't you no na da". The cat mew looked up at her friends and blushed slightly, as if to confirm Pudding's prediction. Lettuce looked away from the scene and busied herself with the tables, not wanting to get involved in an argument between her friends. Mint got up from the table and walked towards her two fellow mews. "Ichigo" she teased "You should remember your mission is more important than your little boyfriend". At this Ichigo started to flame up. "Mint. May I remind you that you are the one who sits and does no work all day" she replied in a taunting tone. The two girls started arguing and mouthing at each other with Pudding trying to separate the two and Lettuce pretending not to notice. Suddenly, the cafe fell silent as Zakuro spoke loudly. "May I remind you two that this cafe opens in ten minutes and nobody but Lettuce and Pudding has done any work". Ichigo and Mint both turned to look at the purple haired woman. They looked at the clock and saw she had indeed been right, they had just ten minutes to do a mountain of work. "You lot better get going then" Minto said as she made her way back to her table. "YOU HELP TOO!" the other four shouted. At this the blue haired mew relectantly turned towards a mop and bucket in the corner of the room and began to work. As if this was a cue for them, the other four jumped into action sweeping, dusting and dressing the tables. After about eight minutes the cafe was in order. The five mews walked into the kitchen and flopped down on the floor. All that hard work was exausting. At this point the kitchen door opened and Keiichiro Akasaka entered. "There you all are. We have decided to close the cafe until the afternoon as Ryou has an important development to the mew project we want to explain to you all" he explained in his usual soft voice. "WHAT!", the five girls chorused "after all that work". The baker looked down at the girls and just smiled in their direction. "Sorry girls but Ryou wants all five of you downstairs". Keiichiro led them out of the room and the six of them headed downstairs into the basement of cafe mew mew.

Just as expected, Ryou Shirogane was stood at the bottom of the room by a large screen. At the sight of his companions he walked towards them. "Aha, there you are" he spoke as the girls filed into the room and drew their attention to the big screen at the back of the room. Ryou saw what their attention was drawn to and went back towards the screen to explain the new development the team had been called down for. " Me and Keiichiro have been working together with our computer smarts for several months now and I am happy to say we have finally finished what we were walking towards. It will be a great help to the mew project and will help us get to the innocent people the aliens target before too much damage can be caused." At this point he changed the visual on the screen to show what was on his computer. He opened a program and started to talk the mews through it. "The program is used to hack into the aliens feeds of earth and it can detect patterns in the footage. We have set it to alert us if there is a regular pattern that we have not programmed it to ignore. I have programmed all five of you, me and Keiichiro into the system as they are bound to be regularly watching us and we don't want false alerts. Through this system we can keep an eye on people the aliens are appearing to target and have someone nearby incase of an emergency. What do you girls think?". The girls had been absorbed in his speech and it took a minute for them to answer. They were impressed with the program and were happy that it would help them. "Now, we should get ready for the cafe opening this afternoon" Keiichiro announced. At this the five girls trudged up the stairs into the cafe to put the finishing touches to it and get in place ready for opening. The cafe opened and the customers started to arrive. It was a typical afternoon at the cafe with lots of customers, Pudding's entertainment and Mint's reluctance to work like the others. After a tedious four hour shift the girls locked the cafe doors and started to do their cleaning routine. Halfway through they were interupted by Ryou running into the room. He looked round at the girls and took a deep breath before speaking. "We have a pattern. We might have found the aliens next target" he announced to the room. The girls turned in their tracks and rushed down the stairs to the basement where the program was already running and there was a picture on the screen. Looking at the image, Zakuro felt that the face was familiar but she couldn't remember who it was. Ryou walked up to his computer and clicked the link underneath the photo. "It seems the aliens have been closely observing a young man called Yoru Niji".

The name rang in her head and a lightbulb flashed in her mind. No, she thought, it can't be him. She walked slightly towards the screen as Ryou brought up a profile on the man in question. She eyed the details carefully. When she saw his date of birth she quickly compared it to her own. When she was 8 that would make him...10. That isn't good, she thought again, the age is exactly right. Then her eyes crossed to the section on his family. Mothers name was Dr Hana Niji. It was him. Zakuro realised this and put both her hands over her mouth in pure shock. Why?, she asked herself, Why him of all people? She was suddenly alerted to the confused looks she was getting from the other mews and their two mentors. "Do you know him Zakuro-san?" Ichigo asked kindly. Although she knew her pink haired friend's intentions were good the very last thing she wanted was to be probed by her friends all afternoon. Knowing there was no other way to avoid her fate, she turned towards the basement door and ran as fast as her legs would carry her until she was away from the cafe and her friends, ignoring the shouts that had followed her

"Zakuro-san?"

"Zakuro!"

"Oneesama!"

**Authors Note: Well, that is the first(short) chapter. I put it in to set the scene and introduce Yoru into the story. Stay reading to find out just how Zakuro knows him. I hope you enjoyed the start of the story and I promise it will get better (and longer) as it goes along. Please review, it will really boost my confidence.**

**Name translations (I choose names carefully and try to get them to match to the character's personality or significance): **

**Yoru = Trust **

**Hana = Flower **


	2. Are we all in danger?

**Authors Note: Ok. Here is the next chapter of my story. I want to thank my great youtube friend for his comments on the first chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Tokyo Mew Mew. I only own my OC characters**

**No POV**

Zakuro finally settled on a bench in a nearby park. She sat down, breathing heavily after her run. When she had caught her breath she let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness I got away, she thought to herself, I don't really want them prying into my private life and especially this part. Her mind then wandered back to the news she had just heard at the cafe. Suddenly her mind couldn't think of anything else

**Zakuro's POV**

Yoru-kun. Of all the people they could target why choose him? Is it because they know our true identities and are trying to make us hurt? If they know who we are and have researched us enough then they would know how much he means to me. The first person I ever trusted after that fateful day...that fateful day...Amaterasu. No, I can't think about that now, or ever. I got over it all those years ago and I can't go back now. Why are the aliens doing this? It is bad enough they keep creating messes for us to sort out and putting us in danger. Its bad enough that they try and physically hurt us all the time but why, just why are they trying to make us hurt inside like this? If this is just the start what are they going to do to the others. Ichigo has Aoyama-san, Mint has her brother and Pudding has a whole family to care about. Maybe I should warn them. No. If I warned them then I would have to tell them about what happened all those years ago, something I want to keep to myself. Maybe there is a way I can subtly hint to them that I know him and that the aliens are targeting people with deep connections to the team. Still too obvious.

**No POV**

As Zakuro sat on the bench deep in thought there was a sudden noise and distortion in the air as a purple haired alien teleported into the park only metres from Zakuro herself. "Well hello there wolf", the deep voice made her turn. She saw him and her anger started to come out. "What are you doing here Pai?" she growled at him. Pai was unsurprised at her reaction and just smiled. "I guess you have found our target then". His words only antagonised her more and he could see her anger visibly rising. "Thats right", he continued "we know all about you, your friend, your sister Amaterasu". At the mention of her sister Zakuro tensed up. "How DARE you!" she yelled at him, jumping up from the bench and standing opposite him. "You have no right to bring that up and you CERTAINLY don't have the right to target my friend". Pai was enjoying the reaction he was getting from the wolf mew and knew his idea to target people the team know was going to work like a treat. Would they be able to fight when they were so wrapped up in their connection that they weren't thinking straight. He pondered about antagonising her more but decided against it as to leave her in suspense. "You watch your back, and your friends too" he said in a provokative tone before teleporting away too soon to hear Zakuro's reply. She noticed he was gone and shouted after him "Come back you...".

She wondered where to go next. She could go home where she would be alone and be able to think. She could go and locate the address Ryou and Keiichiro had for Yoru. Her feet however, headed instinctively towards cafe mew mew. She knew it was part of her duty as a mew to help out the others and that involved not secluding herself like she wanted to. She also knew deep inside that she had to warn the others before the aliens chose their next target. It was part of her mew instincts that she couldn't bear to see any of her friends hurt by the hands of Kisshu, Pai and Taruto. Before she knew what she was doing she found herself walking the familiar path and opening the large pink door. As it opened she could sense the other mews turning their heads to look at her. She knew they would all want to know her reason for walking out on them earlier without even a warning and quickly came up with as many excuses as she could in her head but none of them seemed plausable enough to satisfy. Zakuro didn't say anything and walked towards the middle of the room. The other mews were quietly following her with their eyes until she came to a stop. Finally, she found her voice and addressed the other mews. "I'm sorry for running out earlier and before you ask I am not ready to tell anyone why yet. I just want you to know that the aliens seem to have changed their tactics. Instead of random attacks they are starting to target people with personal connections to us five. Our mission just got ten times harder. We need to keep the people we care about as safe as possible". She sat down on a nearby chair and waited to gauge their reactions. The other four seemed to understand her reasons, deducing that she must have known the man from earlier after all and it must be extremely personal for her to be so quiet about it. They all knew Zakuro was one to hide her emotions at the best of times and she was definitely the most mysterious of the mews. Not even Mint knew much about her childhood or any of her life before she became famous.

Whilst Zakuro seemed to not be paying any attention to them, the other mews started quietly discussing their friend's strange behaviour. "I wonder how she knows this guy" Ichigo started "Shirogane ran a check after Zakuro ran out on us and it shows no connection to the Fujiwara family at all. He even looked into the mother but we can't tell if there is a connection there as she treated so many people with that surname". This got the attention of the three remaining mews who stood closer to her. "Maybe he is an old boyfriend or someone she has a crush on no na da" Pudding said in an unusually quiet voice. "Are you kidding?" Mint whispered "He probably isn't a childhood boyfriend as there are no records containing them both at all and if she had a secret crush and saw this guy a lot it would be all over the papers". Pudding looked annoyed at her comment and pulled a face at her friends before Mint raised an eyebrow making her stop suddenly. The young monkey girl picked up her voice to speak again. "You probably know it isn't recent by checking your secret collection of newspapers with articles about Zakuro-oneechan", she chimed, Making Mint blush red before opening her mouth to try and make excuses. This scene was cut off by another voice. "Mint is right. If it was anything recent it would be all over the press and Mint herself would definitley know about it. It has to be something to do with the past" Lettuce finally spoke. This threw the girls into unknown territory as none of them had even the slightest clue of what connections Zakuro could have had in the past. "Well, I think we can say it goes beyond the simple terms of friendship. No way someone like Zakuro would go like this over a normal friend" Ichigo contributed. "I get what you mean Ichigo-san" Lettuce whispered "She is way too composed to let anything but a deep connection unsettle her. It just isn't natural. I'm worried about her, I mean, we don't even know why this is getting to her so much". At this Ichigo, Mint and Pudding all nodded. They were all worried about their friend and wanted to help her with her problems but at the same time they knew that their lone wolf character of a friend was someone to try and tackle life all by themselves.

They were distracted by their thoughts as they saw an envelope being pushed through the bottom of the cafe door. Pudding rushed to the door to collect the envelope and read the name on the front. She turned to face the adressee, walked towards them and extended the hand containing the envelope towards them. "Zakuro-oneechan. It's addressed to you". The mews watched curiously as she opened the letter and read the writing it contained. Zakuro knew the handwriting, there was no doubt that this letter was from Pai. She read his rough writing quickly. _'Remember his promise to you? How far will he go to protect you?'_. On insticnt her hand closed in on the offending paper and crumpled it tightly in her hand. This was the final straw, the aliens wanted a fight and they were going to get it. She wasn't going to let them lay one finger on the person she trusted more than anybody in the world. Finging the other mews staring at her, she felt a need to vocalise what that letter had got her thinking about.

"That FREAK is going to bloody PAY for this" she yelled into the middle of the cafe. The other mews stared at her in shock. This certainly wasn't the Zakuro Fujiwara they knew so well. Whilst Zakuro wasn't paying attention Pudding snuck up and grabbed the letter from her older friends hand. Zakuro noticed this but decided it would be best if they did read it. Maybe it would help answer their questions. Pudding and the others read the letter and were utterly confused. It was Ichigo who spoke first. "Promise, what promise Zakuro-san?" she asked lightly. When she didn't recieve an answer Mint took a step forward. "We are all worried about you oneesama" she started slowly "We just wish you would talk to us. Whatever your going through we want to help. That is what friends are for". Strangely, Mint's words seemed to be getting through to the eldest mew and she finally spoke. "If I tell you then you must swear on your lives never to tell anyone else". The four girls looked at each other and then chorused in unison "ok".

With a slightly more peaceful mind, Zakuro began to tell her story

**Authors Note: Another chapter complete. This one is slightly longer and in depth but the biggest part of the story starts with the next chapter when we finally get to hear her story. Keep reading to find out what happens next.**

**Name Translations: Amaterasu= Shining Heaven**


	3. Story of Trust Part 1

**Authors Note: Well. Here is the start of Zakuro's story. When I originally thought of this part and the next one it was about two characters in a completely different show (not anime related) but I thought it suited this better. In this chapter italics are used to indicate flashbacks. All flashbacks are in Zakuro's POV**

**Disclaimer: Unless I can fly to Japan and stalk the creators, I will never own Tokyo Mew Mew but will always own the OC characters I create like Yoru, Hana and Amaterasu**

The other four mews quickly located chairs and sat down around their older friend, waiting to hear her story. When she saw them all gathered around she took a deep breath and started her speech. "It all started with a crashed car" she tells the group. Her mind wandered back as she spoke

_What is going on? I look around and see that I am still in the family car. The last thing I remember is a swerving car and screams. Screams? I look around franticly, locating my family members. At least none of them had been thrown out of the car. I see the three of them, none of them awake. I turn to each one and shout their names, hoping to get a reply. "MUM! DAD!" I yell. My thoughts now turning to the other girl in the back of the car. "AMATERASU!" I shout to her but still no response from my family. I look at myself to check for injuries. My leg is bleeding bad, for all I know it could be broken. Had better not move it. Instead I swivel round with my hips to get a better view of my family members. As much as I keep trying to look at mum and dad I can't see much of them. I focus on Amaterasu and see only one sign of injury, a small bruise on her temple. I'm worried for them. How long will we stay here before someone helps us? If we stay like this they could die and they are everything I have. I would find help but I can't move my leg at all. Surely someone saw the crash and called an ambulance. I keep surveying my family nervously, hoping everyone will get through this... _

"I never knew you had a sister oneesama" Mint said quietly, shocked at the revelation. Ichigo was full of sympathy when she spoke. "How awful, you were just stuck there in a crashed car knowing your family could die any minute". "Yes" Zakuro replied "Until..."

_KNOCK KNOCK_

_A tap on my window. I look over to it hastily and find a tall woman on the other side of the door looking in at me. A part of me fills with relief as I stretch to the door handle and use as much strength as I could to get the door open. The woman now comes closer to me and helps me out of the car, she supports my walking until we reach a large boulder where she carefully helped me sit. She looked up at me and spoke. "Hello dear. I am Doctor Niji but you can call me Hana. I was passing by and I saw the crashed car. Are any of the others awake?" I stare at the woman for a minute and not wanting to talk in response shake my head slightly. I take a more comfortable position on the boulder and lower my head. Even if help is here I have these terrible feelings that we aren't going to make it, scared that I will be all on my own. The doctor is speaking again but I can't seem to take in any of her words. She is bending down to look at my poor leg and studies it carefully. She says that it is definitely not a break which is good but I just can't think about that now, how can I think of myself when Hana is heading towards the car, towards my injured family. To my surprise she is walking past the car to her own. My curiosity clears when she opens her door and retrieves a mobile phone but strikes again when she opens another door and a young boy steps out of the car. I lift my head up slightly to take in this boy. He is brown haired, fairly tall and looks only a little older than I am. The two of them are heading towards me and I quickly lower my head again. They stop in front of me but I don't move. It was Hana who spoke "Dearie, This is my son Yoru, he is going to keep you company while I do what I can for your family". I only take in some of her comment and flinch as the young boy comes and sits right next to me. He sees me flinching and pulls himself away a little bit. "It's ok. I won't hurt you". His words are soft and even slightly comforting. He seems to be deep in thought and it is a while before he speaks again. "So..er..what is your name?". I take in his words but can't bring myself to focus on them, let alone give him a response. My attention turns to the arriving ambulance as two paramedics are lifting my mother onto a stretcher. I suddenly long for her to wake up. For her to run over to me and hug me. For her to tell me with her comforting voice that everything is going to be alright. She is in the ambulance now and attention is turning to my father. My attention is distracted as I feel something on my injured leg. I look down quickly._

_Yoru had bent down to look at my leg as his mother had done before. I feel it as he presses lightly on it but don't squirm. I eye him curiously as he goes over to where his mum had laid her medical bag down and retrieves a large bandage from it. "Do you mind if I bandage your leg up?" he asks me "It may hurt when it first touches you but I promise it won't hurt you badly". I nod my head ever so slightly to let him apply the bandage. As he explained a small shot of pain came up my leg as he starts to apply the bandage but it very quickly goes away as he continues. I eye him carefully as he finishes his work and stands up to face me. "I'm not an expert but that should hold until we get to the hospital" he explained cheerfully, obviously trying to make me feel better. His efforts were good but I just can't think of much else than myself and my family. I see Dr Niji talking to the paramedics and one of the paramedics handing her a chart. Yoru sees this and he appears to be watching too. The paramedics are now heading into the ambulance and closing the doors behind them. I stare at the ambulance as it drives away, separating me from my family. Why am I not in there with them? I watch Yoru turn slowly as his mother approaches us. "We are taking this young lady in the car with us. Can you help her get in?" she announced, looking at her son as she does so. He turns to me and grabs my attention. "Where do you want to sit?" he asks "The left side". Where I had been sitting before. I am too scared to sit there. Yoru quickly realised his mistake and put a hand over his mouth. "Definitely not there" he says in an undertone before continuing "How about the right side?". My thoughts cross to my sister. That was her seat. We had fought for the left seat when we were getting in the car and she had lost. If only I had let her win, then she would be safe and it would be me in the ambulance. Why? Why had I been so selfish? My mind is brought back to the present by more speaking. "mmmm...your sister was there wasn't she? Is the middle ok then?". Even though the middle of our car had been empty, I still hesitate. What if this car crashed too? I was lucky this time but maybe not a second. "Come on" he encourages slowly "I promise I will never let any harm come to you". I take in his words carefully and take the hand he reaches out to me..._

"That was the promise from this letter?" Lettuce enquired. Zakuro nodded. "Such a sweet promise no na da" Pudding chimed in wonder. Zakuro smiled and continued...

..._Yoru helps me up from the boulder and I lean on him whilst I hobble my way to his mother's dark blue car. When we arrive he opens the door and I manage to slide across into the middle. He gets into the right side as I reach for my seatbelt, clicking it into the holder. His mum comes to us and noticing the bandage on my leg, inspects it. She tells her son proudly that he has done a good job and does her seatbelt up before putting the key in the ignition and driving away from the scene. During this car ride it is silent and nobody cares to break it. I stay in the same postion with my head hung low. I focus on nothing in the car as my mind turns to my family who will already be at the hospital. Are they getting what they need? Are they seriously injured? Are they all even still alive? Questions keep ringing through my head as I sit there. We arrive at the hospital and I read the sign at the top. 'Minato-ku General Hospital'. The car pulls to a stop in the car park and Yoru opens his door and gets out. I undo my seatbelt and shuffle over to the right. For the brief second I was sat in the right side seat it made me feel that is where I should have been all along. I should never have sat on that left side, even the middle would have been better. This illusion is desrtroyed now as I take Your's hand and am helped out of the car. The three of us walk into the hospital together. As we pass the reception desk the blonde haired receptionist looks up from her desk and greets Hana. The doctor rushed her response and heads towards a waiting room where she instructs me and Yoru to wait. _

_After five minutes of silence another doctor enters the waiting room and searched for us. Finding us, he comes closer and looks towards me in particular. "Hello there little miss" he speaks in slightly playful voice "I am Doctor Masaaki Ito and I am going to be doing you x-ray to see how your leg is". He is beckoning to me to take his had but I find myself scared and grabbing Yoru's hand. "oh dear" he responds "Maybe you should come with her Yoru-kun". I see Yoru take in his words and he stands up to help me move into the x-ray theatre. Masaaki sets up the machine as he speaks to me. "You know you remind me of my daughter Yuuko. She's about your age too". I just stare at him blankly and eye him as he gets in position for the x-ray and then he stops for another attempt to try and make me feel happier. "Well, there is just no use me taking a photo if you aren't going to smile" he says, smiling at the same time. Yoru lets out a laugh to try and encourage me but I just can't smile no matter how much I try. The doctor notices and comically hangs his head in defeat, making the young boy by my side giggle. He takes the x-ray and then walks over to the two of us. "I bet you like games though. My two always want to play and no matter how much I protest they always make me pretend to be an aeroplane" he questions. Games are fun but it was usually me and Amaterasu playing and thinking of games reminded me that my sister was somewhere and I didn't know what was going on with her. Me and Yoru are led back to the waiting room and told that someone will be with us soon._

"Hehe...that doctor seems so nice and funny" Pudding exclaimed. "He reminds me of this doctor character in an english show my mum used to watch" Ichigo piped up thoughtfully. "Never mind the funny doctor, what happened next?" Mint broke loudly through the conversation."Now", Zakuro took a deep breath before continuing "comes the part that made it the worst day of my life...

_...We are in the room, still waiting. Yoru slowly moves and holds my hand gently in his. I look up at him but don't move my hand. We are both silent and eyeing anyone who passes through the room carefully. It has been 20 minutes since my x-ray and we still haven't heard anything. I look up as I hear the door open. Hana Niji enters the room and I know she will have news for me. I stare at her carefully until I come to her face. I can tell by her expression and teary eyes that it was really bad news. I brace myself for the worst, secretly hoping that I read her expression wrong. Yoru is looking at her now and I see him start to get teary eyes looking at him mum's expression. This is definitely bad news. The doctor shakes her head gently, no words are needed. At this Yoru gasps. "No...who?" he says in a shocked and pained voice. She opens her mouth to give two words..._

"The two words that changed everything" Zakuro said quietly and drew in the deepest breath she could before reciting...

_"the sister"_

**Authors Note: There you go people. The way Yoru and Zakuro met. The next chapter will deal with the reactions to Amaterasu's death and how Zakuro came to trust Yoru after it. Reviews would be much appreciated as I worked extremely hard on this chapter to make it work well.**

**Name Translations: Masaaki= Pleasing brightness**

**P.S: I wonder if anyone managed to get my inspiration behind the character of Dr Masaaki Ito. I would be surprised if they did**


	4. Story of Trust Part 2

**Authors Note: Hello there. This is finally chapter 4 after an age of not updating (Blame severe writers block :O) All flashbacks are still in Zakuro's POV except the one line in the park and the same idea as the last chapter with the italics**

**Thanks to Niamhxxx for her review. Now I can see why it brightens people's days :)**

**Disclaimer: *checks* no, still don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, just the OC's**

The four mews gasped. None of them had expected that. Remembering her sister's death had Zakuro teary eyed and Pudding put her arm round her friend in empathy. She knew how much it hurt to lose a loved one, even after so long. She understood what her older friend must have been feeling at that time, remembering how she had felt when her mum had died. Mint finally spoke "Wow, I just...never knew oneesama". "That is because I knew that talking about it would bring it all back" the woman hastily replied. She remembered the feeling well, how the words had rang...

_...The words ring through me like a shot. My beautiful little sister Amaterasu...is dead. She's gone...forever. Never again will I see that smiling face hovering over me in the morning. Never again will she beg me to play hide and seek with her. I won't even get to laugh at more of her extremely silly photo poses. How will I start my day without her smile to brighten it up? I start to lose control at the thought, tears streaming down my face. I don't even care that everyone else can see that I am crying, there are more important things. It's all my fault. I was the one who fought her for the left seat and forced her into the right seat. The seat of death. Why did she have to pay for my selfishness with her life? She would still be alive if only I had let her sit where she wanted. I...I killed her and it was all over a...car seat. My attention is momentarily distracted as the young boy next to me pulls me into a tight hug. I think about pulling away from him but part of me tells me I need the comfort. I sit there with my head in my arms, tears still streaming from my face. Hana seems to be looking at me sympathetically. I see the receptionist from earlier approach her and her leave the room to talk... _

..."I later found out that the receptionist had been given our names from the blood tests on my parents and sister and telling Hana-san that I had nowhere to go. My parents were still unconscious and I had no other relatives that could take care of me. All I knew was when she came back into the room her focus was on me" Zakuro told her friends. "Where did you go Zakuro-san?" Lettuce questioned "Social services?, a friends?, a safe house?". "No" came the response...

_...She is coming back in with the receptionist and and I look up at her as she turns to me. At the same time her son is releasing me from the hug and allowing his mum to take both of my hands in hers. I stare at her with empty eyes as she opens her mouth to form words. "Zakuro, that is your name isn't it?". I nod at her slowly. "Well Zakuro, how would you like to come and stay with us while your parents recover?". I think over this offer carefully. Sure, they aren't my family but they seem safe people to be with. The mother is friendly and there is something in that boys eyes, something that just makes me feel I can trust him. My mind is made up and I nod my head for a second time. Hana smiles at me and slowly reaches to hug me but this time I do pull away. Although she seems a good person I am still not completely comfortable with her just yet. The receptionist leaves the room, most likely to file paperwork ready for me to leave. I'm told that my leg has only been fractured and that I will be able to leave but I have to use crutches for a while until it fully heals. I test out the crutches and find a way to use them to walk. _

_About an hour later I find myself walking out of the hospital on my new crutches. The three of us head towards the car and when we get there, Yoru opens the left door for me and I push myself into the centre seat. He sits down in the left side seat and Hana sits herself in the drivers seat. As the car starts I look over to the right seat, looking at an empty right seat brings my mind back to my sister and how she had died in such a brutal and selfish way. Was this some divine punishment from a God for my behavior?, my sister taken from me to make me realise my faults. As the journey progresses my mind constantly switches between the real world around me and my personal bubble of regret. The car stops and as I take a final look at the right hand seat a single tear falls down my cheek. I pick up my crutches and me and Yoru wait at their front door for the older woman to arrive with the keys. She comes up the stony path and unlocks the large blue door. Hana beckons for me to come inside and I obey. I survey their home with curiosity, walking down the red painted hallway. I come to the first door on the right which is wide open. I poke my head round and take a look. Their front room has walls the same colour red as their hallway. It is simply furnished with an armchair, a sofa, a small table and a DVD shelf and a television. I find myself walking into the room and looking around even closer. Yoru and Hana survey me curiously as I explore their home. After a few minutes, I finally hear a voice. "Do you like it Zakuro-san" Hana questions softly. I look at her and nod my head. Their home is simple but warm and inviting. Yoru walks up towards me and offera his hand. I stare at him curiously and he looks at this expression. "I want to show you where you will be sleeping" he explains to me. I nervously take the hand and he gently leads me up the carpeted stairs and into a green coloured room. It is a small room with a single bed, a set of draws, a wardrobe and a lampshade. "A good job we have this spare room" he says while cracking a smile. I am looking around when we hear a voice shouting us from downstairs. It is Hana telling us that she is going to take me back to my house for a little while to pack some things for my visit. I reluctantly walk out of the room and back down the stairs towards the woman..._

..."We went on a long drive to a house full of memories" Zakuro explained. "How long did you stay with Hana and Yoru Zakuro-san?" Ichigo asked. "Just over a week and a half" she replied "In that time I learnt to trust my companions.". "What was it like at your house oneesama?" Mint asked. Zakuro took a deep breath before preparing to reply. "It was like the first time I could see my house in its reality"...

_...I come to the front door of my house and get out my spare set of keys. With them in hand I insert them into the keyhole and open our door with a creak. Walking into the house I see it exactly the same as it was when I left it but it feels so much different. I use my crutches to help myself up the stairs towards the bedroom where my things are still located. On my way there I see the open door to the room of my sister. I walk towards the door and see that it is exactly the way she always left it with clothes in neat piles and hair accessories neatly placed around her dresser. Her bed is carefully made and her green teddy bear placed on top of the pillow. Looking at her room is bringing tears to my eyes. I see memories flash through my head. The day our dance routine went totally crazy and we ended up breaking her mirror, the day I peeked into her room whilst she was trying to stick up her posters, the many stormy nights when she would drag me into her room and make me get in bed with her for comfort. I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and turn in false hope but sigh when I realise it is just Hana. She sees me looking at the room and gently leads me away. This distracts me from the thought and I gently make my way to my own, slightly messier bedroom. I cross the room to my wardrobe and pull out a large purple backpack and lay it on my unmade bed. My companion enters the room and walks over to my draws and then stops to look at me as if seeking permission. I nod to her and she opens the draws to help me pack my bag. We pile in a good amount of clothes and underwear, my hairbrush, my toothbrush and other essentials for my stay. I look into the bag and see something is missing. I lay one of my crutches on the bed and use the other one to guide me as I lift up my bedcovers and find my purple teddy, almost a twin to my sisters. I lay it neatly on top of all the other things and zip up the bag. Hana picks up the bag and puts it on her shoulders before gently steering me and my crutches out of the room. As we pass Amaterasu's room again I sneak a look through the door before proceeding very slowly down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs the door is opened for me and I head out back into the car for the drive to my temporary home._

_When we arrive back we are greeted with a smile from the young boy who has been waiting for us. Hana removes her coat and puts it on a nearby coat hook. She looks towards me and reaches a hand to help me with my coat but I instead reach to take it off myself and hand it to her to place on the hook next to her own coat. The doctor looks towards the clock and lets out a sigh before speaking. "Look at the time. I bet you are both hungry. I'll see what we have in". With these words the woman leaves the room and heads towards the kitchen. I look round and see that Yoru is still watching me and I lower one of my crutches as to hoist my bag on my shoulder and then made my way up their stairs and to my new bedroom. To my surprise I am alone now. I guess Yoru can tell that I just want some alone time to get used to my new surroundings. I sit on the bed and remove the crutches, placing them on the bed. My attention turns to my backpack and I take it off my shoulders and open it. I place the purple bear gently on the bed before sorting through the other things that had been packed for me. I take a look at some of the clothes, most of which Hana had help up against me to check fit, and place them on the bed too. I turn at the sound of a gentle knock on the door. Swiftly moving I pick up my crutches and move towards the door to open it for the guest. Yoru smiles at me as the door opens and he walks in, looking at the pile of clothes on my bed. He moves towards the bed and the clothes and I give him a look of confusion. "I thought you might need some help unpacking with...everything" he answers softly. The confusion on my face goes away and I survey him with curiosity as he picks up some of the clothes and places them neatly in one of the draws. He goes back to the bed and picks up the one dress I had packed with a smile."You will have to wear that on day" he commented I move myself towards the bed and pick up a pile myself, placing them in the draw above but none too neatly. Hastily, I try to manouver my crutches to allow me to make it neater but before I know it a hand reaches in front of me, making my pile neater. I don't need to look to tell the owner of the hand. Both of us are silently moving around my room, putting my clothes in the draws and wardrobe when we hear a loud voice coming from downstairs. "Tea is ready. Come and get it you two". I let the young boy pass me and lead the way as we head to the kitchen. _

_To show me where to go he took the plate of food from his mum and set it on the table in the corner of the room. Watching this, I proceeded to do the same with my own plate and help myself into a chair. I survey my plate carefully and see both Yoru and Hana (who had now took her place at the table) looking at me curiously. Seeing this I look down as to not be questioned. "Well, lets not keep our stomachs waiting" Hana announced to the table before picking up her cutlery and making a start on eating her meal. We eat in silence for the first minutes until Hana attempts to start conversation. "So, what were you two up to up there?". My companion looks up at his mother before speaking. "I was helping Zakuro-chan unpack her things". I however stay silent, still eating. The two of them fall silent too and we finish our meal that way. When we are finished we all get up from the table and I follow the others into the living room. Hana goes to sit on the sofa and Yoru goes to do the same but he sees me heading for an armchair in the corner and pulls me away towards the sofa. "Its big enough for three to fit on" he smiles as he says this. I am guided onto the sofa as I hear the noise of the television sparking into life. I don't see what is on it at first as I see the older remote holder hastily change the channel. When I look I see it is now playing an anime show. I look closer and see the show is in fact Sailor Moon and the episode is somewhere in the first season or very early second as Usagi is transforming with Moon Prism Power. I sit myself on the sofa and focus on the screen, losing myself in the episode. It seems that my companions are happy with the program choice as they leave it on for the next two episodes. After this the older woman looks at me and her son. "Right. I think it is time you two went to bed. Just come down and tell me if you need anything Zakuro"..._

..."and that was how my first day at the Niji house went. That night I couldn't get much sleep at all which I guess was understandable. I lay there in my new bed just thinking about everything that had happened. Eventually I got to sleep and woke up the next morning. Whilst I was there I spent most of my time in front of the TV. I guess I saw it as a kind of escape where I could just switch off from reality. I was told the second day that both my parents were awake but I wasn't allowed to go up and see them yet as they too had to cope with the devestating news they had been given. It was my fifth day there when Hana came up to me and told me I could finally visit. When we arrived my parents had thanked her for taking me in and taking such good care of me and then she left me alone with them. I went up and hugged my mum tight and then proceeded to do the same with my dad. A lot of the time we didn't talk. It was mostly a few words to each other when we knew we were truly by ourselves. I would see them every day for about an hour" Zakuro continued. "Did you ever talk to Hana and Yoru?" Lettuce asked. "It took a while but yes. There was one night there which proved to me that I could trust in Yoru"...

_...I wake up with a start at the sound of a bang. I shoot up into a sitting position and look around for the source of the noise. About 10 seconds later I see a flash from outside the window. I realise it must be lightning and the noise must have been thunder. The rain is also pouring down, noisily hitting the road and pavement outside. The storm keeps going as I try to get back to sleep but I fail in this mission. With all the times I have been the one to give comfort during the storms, I never did get to realise that I am scared of them myself. I try once again to enforce sleep but eventually give up. I nervously cross the hallway to Yoru's bedroom and push open the door with one of my crutches. He is already awake and turns in surprise at his door opening but smiles when he sees me coming towards him very slowly. "Scared of the storm Zakuro-chan?" he questions lightly. I nod my head as another loud roar of thunder becomes audible and about 5 seconds later the room lit up for a split second at the sheer energy of the lightning bolt. He props himself up on his bed and extends his hand towards me. I stare at it blankly. Seeing this he speaks again. "I'm not going to hurt you you know" he encourages. Still tentative, I come closer and take a gentle grip on his hand. Yet another rumble and flash approaches as we stay there hand in hand. "Tell you what. Do you want me to get that lovely teddy of yours?" he asks me. Again I nod and he gets out of bed and proceeds to the room I have been sleeping in. A seemingly long moment later he returns from his mission with the purple bear in hand. I take it from his hands and hold it tight, watching as Yoru gets back into his bed and moves over to one side to leave the other side empty. He pulls the half the cover over himself and the other half is folded over him leaving the other side completely empty. "Are you getting in here or what?" he teases softly. I look at him with both nerves and curiosity but then obey his orders and lower myself into the other side of the double bed, lying my crutches on the floor. Yoru pulls the other half of the cover over me. I curl up tight as I once again hear the thunder along with the pouring rain. Seeing this he put one of his arms around me like I would always do on the long stormy nights with Amaterasu curled up next to me. I first meekly hesitate but then, when I realise I am safe allow myself to let hi keep his comforting arm in place. Every time thunder crashes he grips my hand to aid me until I finally manage to fall to sleep..._

..."I woke up the next morning to see Hana looking at us both with a smile on her face. I looked round at Yoru waking up and smiled for the first time since I arrived there. When she asked if we slept ok I actually replied yes. I never knew what it was but something about that night just told me that I could trust these people and it really changed how I acted around them." the wolf mew explained. The other mews said nothing, still moved by her story. "Did you stay with them for a while afterwards?" Mint finally piped up. Zakuro looked at her admirer before answering. "No. Only about five days after that I was told that my parents were well enough to leave the hospital and that I could go home"...

_I see my parents already belted up in the taxi as I faced Hana and Yoru with my backpack on my bag. "I'm going to miss having you around little Zakuro. Take care now" Hana announces as she hugs me gently to say goodbye. My attention now turns to Yoru who comes up to me and hugs me aswell. "Take care Zakuro-chan and don't forget to smile" he says in his soft voice. "Thanks for taking me in. Keep in touch" I reply to the two of them before walking away and getting into the back seat of the taxi. As the taxi draws away from the Niji household I wave to them I feel a tear coming down my cheek. I really am going to miss seeing them..._

..."We kept in touch by phone for a while but eventually we lost contact and we haven't seen each other since but I have never forgotten him or his mum". Again her friends were speechless. "Zakuro-san. We will help protect your special friend no matter what. There is no way we will let those aliens do that to you" Ichigo cried enthusiasticly. At this the purple haired woman let out a smile. With their questions answered the mews departed on their journeys home.

**Sakura Park/No POV**

A young man walks through Sakura Park, watching blossoms fall to the ground in the wind. Looking at the blossoms he remembers a very special friend from his past who he once took for a walk through this very park.

_"Look, look. Cherry Blossoms, aren't they lovely?"_

_"Wow. They look differnet to the ones in our back yard. Me and..."_

_"Its ok. You don't have to think about it"_ he whispers to himself, deep in the memory. He suddenly turns as he hears a noise from behind him. He sees a tall man with a strange hairstyle and clothes very differnt to the ones he was used to.

"Yoru Niji. Your time here is about to be over" Pai boomed as he raised his hand above his head

**Authors Note: Wow. I am really glad to have finished this chapter. I just love cliffhanger endings. Read the next chapter (which will hopefully come quicker than this one) to find out how it turns out and don't forget to review on your way out**


	5. Remember

**Authors Note: Well, we left the last chapter on tenderhooks so it is time to see what happens to Yoru. The few flashbacks in this scene are just general flashbacks without a point of view.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill by now. I own nothing but my characters**

**Cafe Mew Mew Basement/No POV**

Ryou Shirogane was sat beside the computer in the basement, the computer still running their new program. He couldn't believe it had got a pattern so quickly but he was also worried about Zakuro. That woman was sure acting strange when she saw that and there is no relation or evidence to suggest they even knew each other. He turned back to the computer screen as he got a beep on the system. Could it be the connection he was looking for. Opening the link, he saw a copy of a form. He reads it and sees two names. Dr Hana Niji to temporarily take care of...Zakuro Fujiwara. This is it, he thought to himself. He had finally found out why she had been acting so strange. Just as he was celebrating his finding in his head there was an alarm. The computer changed to direct feed from a place he recognised as Sakura Park. The feed showed Pai right next to his target. Ryou shot out of his chair and pulled the microphone down from his headphones. He spoke in a clear voice, getting the attention of all 5 mews.

"Everbody head to Sakura Park. Live feed shows Pai there with Yoru"

He stood still and waited for responses, knowing who would be first.

"I'm close. I will be there in 2 minutes and give that alien a piece of my mind" came the expected voice in response. He pictured Zakuro pelting at full speed towards the park but was distracted by the other four mews responding.

**Sakura Park/No POV**

Zakuro, being the closest, had arrived at the park first and was frantically searching for the area where Pai was poised to attack. She heard a loud noise and ran full speed towards the source of it, finding the evil alien ready to take Yoru's spirit. Watching the commotion she knew there was only on ting she wanted to do

_"I promise I will never let any harm come to you"_

He had protected her all that time she was vulnerable and finally it was her chance to protect him. With more force than ever before she readied herself to transform. She crouched down into her hiding place and pulled out her power pendant

"Mew Mew Zakuro METAMORPHOSIS!"

She transformed in a flash of light and came out of her hiding place. "Stop right there Pai" she yelled. Pai turned towards her and gave her an evil smile. "Too late wolf girl" he replied, pointing to the figure now lying motionless on the floor and then looking down at the spirit in his right hand. Zakuro looked down at the figure and gasped. "Yoru-kun!" she screamed as she ran towards him. Whilst she was transforming he must have took it without her noticing she thought to herself. "But" he continued "At least now I can do two jobs at once". He revealed an infuser in his left hand and put it together with his collected spirit. Zakuro could only watch in horror as the two merged with Pai's yell of "FUSION". Almost at once a chimera animal appeared in front of Pai and started to charge towards her but instead of her usual attacking method she instead ducked out of the way of her opponent. She repeated this, not being able to bring herself to attack what she knew had once been her special friend. Pai looked on with a look of humility at the purple mew and her efforts not to attack his new creation. The chimera charged again and nearly hit Zakuro when a yellow light rushed towards him, trapping him in a jelly like ring. The confused mew looked around for her monkey friend who she knew had set the attack. Finally the other 4 mews came into view, looking directly at Pai. "Trying to destroy our team by targeting our friends is unforgivable" Ichigo aimed loudly at their enemy before the other 3 joined in with the famous mew catchphrase "For the future of the earth, we will be of service Nya". They came closer to the chimera and Mint poised her bow and arrow ready to aim. "Ribbon...". She is stopped by a shout by her idol. "Mint, are you crazy? Don't forget there is a real person inside that thing". Her friends looked at her very strangely indeed at her comment. The aliens had been using people to create chimeras for ages and she had never stopped them before. "We can't just do nothing Zakuro-san" Ichigo replied to her but their conversation was cut short as the chimera burst out of the pudding ring that was containing it, blasting it into tiny pieces.

Pudding tried to capture it again but it moved fast and was able to dodge her rings every time. The chimera got faster and faster, careering towards the five mews. Lettuce, ignoring her friends intention not to attack, raised her castanets, shooting green light from them. Zakuro gave Lettuce and evil glare when she noticed this action. The attack hit the intended target but the result was very unexpected. Instead of being hurt it glowed green for a moment before growing bigger and seemingly stronger. All five girls stared at this with shocked faces. "ha. We have a fighting spirit here" Pai half boomed half giggled. As their enemy continued the path towards them Mint poised herself to attack before turning to the woman she looked up to as an older sister. "Oneesama. We have to take it down or it could destroy the whole of Tokyo. It may seem the wrong thing to do but then we can return him to normal". Zakuro looked up at the blue haired girl, not saying a word. With danger drawing nearer Mint released her attack but the same happened as when Lettuce attacked just with a blue glow instead of green. It approached and pushed Mint to the floor with his giant fist. Zakuro watched the commotion, unable to take it in. Whatever this thing is it isnt Yoru, she thought to herself, the Yoru I know would never hurt anybody. He was sweet, gentle and loving. An exact opposite to the monster now coming towards her and her friends. She was brought out of her daze by Ichigo's cry of "Whatever we do, we are only making it stronger. How are we supposed to beat him?". Nobody on the team had any ideas until Lettuce spoke quietly. "Ichigo, Mint. Do you remeber that musician who was turned into a chimera. The music Ryou played made it weaker". The two in question pondered that fact but were disrupted as they jumped out of the way of their enemy. "Only two problems" Mint shouted to her friend "One, we have no music and two he isn't a musician. We need something to make him remember". Make him remember, Zakuro pondered, surely there is something here that could remind him of when we went here as children, accidently tripping into one of the piles of cherry blossoms. Cherry blossom...rain. Suddenly a lightbulb flashed in her mind. "Leave it to me" she called to her comrades. "Zakuro-san" they all chimed. Reluctantly, she raised her weapon and drew in a breath before uttering "Ribbon Zakuro...", she hesitated before calling out the last word of her attack, "SPEAR". The purple light beam shone and she used it to tie the unsuspecting chimera. She hated herself for doing it but knew she had to get the real Yoru back, the one she remembered. Taking a step back she ran at full speed towards the now still target, crashing into it and knocking them both into a giant pile of cherry blossoms, sending the light petals flying.

_"Hey, Zakuro-chan, doesn't this make you think of cherry blossom rain?"_

_"Cherry Blossom Rain?"_

_"Yes. Petals falling from the sky and landing everywhere. It really is magical"_

"Please, please remember Yoru-kun" she cried in desparation, her figure still holding down their enemy. She wrapped one arm of the figure around her just as he had done on the stormy night, a tear streaming down her face as she did so. After all this she could only hope it would help him remember so that Ichigo could return him to her.

_"Scared of the storm Zakuro-chan?"_

_"Are you getting in here or not?"_

As she looked at him once more she saw split moment when the eyes of the figure she was holding down seemed to change, seem to become more...normal. The woman prised herself away and turned towards Ichigo who took it as her signal to attack. Zakuro looked away as the strawberry mew raised her strawberry bell and released her attack, aiming it at the now weakened chimera. To their joy when the attack hit home the chimera burst and disappeared into thin air, leaving only a spirit and an infuser which Masha automatically came to collect. Zakuro looked at the spirit now released but then drew her attention away from it and turned to the tall alien who was staring at the team in confusion of the ruining of his evil plan.

"Pai!" she exclaimed so that everyone could hear. Seeing he is in trouble the alien prepares to teleport but a purple bind ties itself around his body. "If you EVER mess with MY friend like that again then I swear to you it will be the last thing you ever do. Got It!" she threatened in a dangerously low tone. Instead of being scared, however, Pai laughed at his fiery opponent. Watcing this Zakuro turned angrier and walked towards her enemy. "If you find it a laughing matter" she spoke in a taunting tone which she then raised "then maybe this will be enough to wipe the grin off that face of yours". Pai gathered his thoughts at her comment and the next thing he knew there was a sharp pain in his stomach. Looking down hastily he saw the cause of his pain. A clenched fist had collided with his body with brutal force. He looked up again to see a very threatning look on the face of the fist's owner and decided that now was definitely the time to teleport away and with a click of his fingers he was gone.

With the alien out of the way, the purple haired mew turned once more towards the spirit and she walked to pick it up in her hands before making her way to the lifeless body and kneeling down in front of him. She held him gently as she returned his spirit, watching the colour come back into his face made her own face brighten. She and the others hastily detransformed as she kept her eyes on her old friend. As Yoru opened his eyes the first thing he saw was the young woman who was holding him and studying him carefully. As her face became clearer he realised who exactly was there beside him. "Zaku..ro-ch..an?" he murmered, still slightly groggy from the whole incident. "Yoru-kun. Are you okay?". The sandy haired man raised himself up in his friends arms. "I think so" ,came the reply, "What happened? All I remember is this wierd guy putting his hand up and then feeling like I was lifting into the air". Zakuro looked nervously at her friends, wondering what to tell him, before finally answering. "Its a long story". Seemingly content with this explanation, Yoru prised himself from the wolf mew's arms and stood himself up. Now released from the pressure on top of her, Zakuro followed his action and soon stood beside him. The other mews had sneakily taken steps back from the pair in the hope of them being able to catch up with each other. "After all these years", Yoru started, "and we meet again like this. Not really how I imagined it". Turning to face the man, Zakuro let out a small smile. "Me neither. Well, the park is but not the rest of it". Everyone could see the awkwardness the two were feeling as they slowly made conversation. They had so much that needed saying but none of them knew when to say it. There was several moments when the two just stared, taking each other in after their years apart. "I never forgot about you" Zakuro said softly. "Me neither. I searched for you for so long before I finally saw you on the TV. I couldn't believe it was you at first. You looked so grown up and confident", came the response. "I searched but after so long I thought...thought...that I wouldn't see you again". The purple haired woman began to tear up as she said this and Yoru stepped towards her and pulled her into a hug. "I promise that won't happen again Zakuro-chan. Now we have met again we can always keep in touch". As they stood there underneath the setting sun, Zakuro knew he would keep his promise. He would always be the first person she trusted.

**Authors Note: I can't believe how fast this has gone. It feels like only yesterday I was writing the first chapter, wondering where the story was going to take me and now I am so nearly finished. The only thing left now will be a epilogue that will be up soon. Until then please review and spread the news of my story :)**


	6. Epilogue

_**EPILOGUE**_

**This is set 2 weeks after the actual story took place**

**Cafe Mew Mew/No POV**

It had been ten minutes since the pink cafe had closed its doors to customers and all five mews were working to clean the cafe of the mound of dirt that had collected during the day. Much to the surprise of the workers the door was pushed open. "Im sorry but we are..." Ichigo started but then trailed off as she saw who was coming through the door and knew who he wanted to see. Smiling, the girl turned to the man beside the door and spoke. "I'll go and get her, won't be a minute". As the cat mew left the room their gueast sat himself down on a chair and waited at one of the tables.Two minutes later the young girl returned with her companion. The woman walked over to the table and sat herself down next to him. "Yoru-kun. I'm glad you came" Zakuro said with a smile as she looked at her friend. Her smile was returned and Ichigo took this as her cue to leave.

"Well, we have a lot to catch up with after all this time" he replied and both of them knew he was correct. "So, what have you been up to since we lost touch with each other?" Zakuro asked politely. Yoru giggled slightly before speaking. "Quite a lot of things have happened Zakuro-chan. Would you believe I am a medical student now. I'm doing work experience at the hospital not far from here". This was great, the purple haired woman thought to herself. She knew he had wanted to be a doctor like his mother since he was 8. He had always said that she was his first patient as that day was the first time he had been able to get true experience of the job he wanted to do. "Thats brilliant Yoru-kun. That was what you always wanted" she exclaimed. Her companion nodded in response to her comment. "Thats the news you expected. You know that thing we said we would like to happen to a certain someone. It happened about a year back". Zakuro's face turned to shock. "No Way!" came her reply. Yoru just smiled at her response, knowing she would be shocked at the revelation. "Yes way. Mum finally got married". "Thats great. Anyone I know?" the mew questioned in excitement. The medical student leaned over and whispered in her ear just three words which added more surprise to the news.

"Of all the people, It was the one who we all thought would make a perfect partner" she replied to his new words. "You should have seen them try to act natural until the news came out. It was hilarious." The two laughed together at the idea of the two in question acting as if nothing was going on as they knew the two of them were both bad liars.

"Well. Enough about me. What about you? You have become such a star." he distracted. She looked down slightly at this leaving the man confused. " There are times, where I don't want to be a star and just want to be a normal person like you and my friends. I can't even walk down a busy street without somone knowing my name.". Her old friend looked her in the eye before her spoke. "Zakuro-chan. You never were just an ordinary person. You are special for who you are. Your special to me and i am sure the same counts for your friends. That is all that matters." he comforted. She smiled mildly at him and looked towards the door where she knew her friends would probably be eavesdropping. "Thank you" finally escaped the wolf mew's lips. Suddenly, her ears detected a whisper and she hurriedly crossed to the the door, leaving Yoru sat there surprised. She swiftly opened the door and as she suspected 4 girls in cafe mew mew uniforms fell through it but surprisingly a male adult also recieved the same fate. Ryou had seen the girls listening in and had joined them.

"You might as well come in and listen if you are going to listen anyway" the oldest mew stated to her friends. Yoru couldn't help but laugh from watching the episode take place in front of his eyes. Zakuro walked back to where her friend was seated and once again took a seat at the table. "There is something I wanted to give you Zakuro-chan. I did want to before you left all those years ago but it came so suddenly that it wasn't finished. He held out a piece of white paper that was folded in half. She took it from his hand and held it gently in hers. Her hands brushed over it as she opened it and studied the contents. It was a poem, one that had clearly been written especially for her. The woman read it slowly, taking in every word that he had wrote. After finishing the poem she looked at her companion and smiled brightly at him. "You like it?" he questions. "I love it" she responds and hugs him tightly. Unfortunately at that moment there is a loud ring and Yoru steps out of the hug and reaches in his pocket for this phone. He looks at the number and answers the call very politely and formally. "That is my boss. He needs me back at the hospital to help out. I'm sorry I can't stay" he finally announced. "Its ok Yoru-kun.", Zakuro said gently, "You go and help them out.". With this and a smile he got up from the pink seat and grabbed his jacket. "Just one thing Zakuro. That day when I was...attacked. I was awake for a minute before you found me and I saw this person. At first it was blurry but then it became clearer and clearer. When it was blurry, for a minute I actually thought it had been you but when it became clearer I saw it was that person from those Tokyo Mew Mew everyone is curious about. I just wondered if you had seen anyone there." He turned to walk out of the cafe and as he did so Zakuro looked at Ryou. No words were needed for him to get what she was thinking. He nodded his head and the mew ran towards Yoru.

"Can you walk and talk? I have something I want to tell you"

**Authors Note: This is truly the end of my first fanfic. I really enjoyed writing this and in some ways are sad to be stopping but an glad because I can finally see my finished works and what I can accomplish. Thank you to the readers who have supported me and a special thanks to my youtube friend who has been there every step of the way (You know who you are :) ). Rest assured there are more fics on the way. I have plans in my head already. **


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